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Man arrested in Riverside County animal cruelty case after horse is euthanized

February 15, 2011 | 4:56
pm

A Riverside County man was arrested Tuesday on felony suspicion of animal cruelty for failing to provide veterinary care for an injured horse that had severely ruptured tendons and had to be euthanized.

Officers responding to the Mira Loma home of Francisco Javier Ponce, 40, also found more than 100 illegal cockfighting roosters on the property, according to the Riverside County Department of Animal Services.

Officials were forced to euthanize the horse because its injuries were so severe, the department said in a statement.

Officers had responded to the home in the 6000 block of Marlatt Street after receiving a tip about the horse.